What Is Erotic And Eroticised Transference, How Often Does It Happen In Therapy And How Do You Treat It?

Question: What is erotic and eroticised transference, how often does it happen in therapy and how do you treat it?

Answer: Any type of transference is basically a re-emergence of feelings attached to a person from our past and "transfered" to a person in our present. In this case, the therapist. It is mostly of an unconscious nature but can nonetheless, feel very real to the patient. The very nature of psychodynamic therapy, encourages and taps into this common phenomenon and makes effective use of it. When one believes that many of our present problems stem from events and relationships in our past, the mechanism of transference can be used by the therapist to explore, explain and attempt to repair psychological damage, or restart a bogged down developmental process.

Eroticised transference is no different. It is simply a transference of intensely positive feelings, rightly attached to someone from the past, displaced onto the therapist and which has become infused with erotic excitement. Most people would not consciously and purposefully attempt to pervert a therapeutic relationship into a romantic affair, that is highly unlikely to ever be realised. Erotic transference must eventually be seen for what it is, talked about and worked through. True erotic transference does not depend on the therapists' or patients' age, sex, physical charms or emotional allure. Nor does it depend on seductive behaviour towards the patient or any inappropriate behaviour by the therapist. It is to do with what is inside the patient. It is a common enough ocurrence in therapy to a minor extent, where the therapist is often initially idealised. This remains basically harmless when acknowledged by both involved and passes off as a potential problem when the process moves on and the relationship matures. The therapy can get stuck if the therapist is awkward and inexperienced in acknowledging and handling this, or the patient is extremely disturbed and cannot or will not, adequately distinguish fact from phantasy.

Answer provided by David White, Psychotherapist